Immediately improve your ball striking with this timeless drill

There are many moves that make up the golf swing, but there’s one that players seem to focus on most. You’ve probably heard it described as shallowing your swing, finding the slot, the ‘honey hole,’ or ‘Position A’, as Rick Smith, a GOLF Top 100 Lifetime Achievement Teacher, calls it in this article from the GOLF Archives.

Regardless of what you call it, players are obsessed with hitting this position, and for good reason. It’s a move that all great ball strikers make in their swing.

“In every good shot, the club must approach the ball on a inside, shallow path along the target line with a square clubface at impact,” Smith says.

And this doesn’t just apply to players with perfect swings. If you find Position A, Smith says it can make up for a less technically sound swing.

“Your swing can be all over the lot (although I don’t recommend it), but if you hit Position A on the downswing, you’ll still hit a good shot.”

So what is Position A exactly, and how do you know if you’re hitting it?

Position A, explained

As Smith explains, Position A is when your club is parallel to both the ground and the target line with the end of your grip pointing at the target. 

“It means your club is dead on plane,” Smith says. “If you hit Position A on the downswing, you’re locked in to the proper angle of approach.”

Instruction

To better understand Position A and what it feels like in your swing, try this slow-mo rehearsal from Smith. Set up to a ball and lay an iron just outside your trail foot, grip side closest to your body. Keep the club in line with the ball of your foot and parallel to the target line. With another iron in hand, take the club to the top of your backswing. Start your downswing slowly. Smith says that you’ll know you hit Position A when the two clubs line up, grip to grip, shaft to shaft, clubhead to clubhead. 

Once you’ve grooved that feeling, it’s time to put it into action and this gate drill from Smith can help you practice making a shallow, inside angle of attack.

Smith’s gate drill

Tee up a ball and place an alignment rod about three to four inches outside your tee ball, parallel to the target line. Then, bookend the tee ball with two other golf balls so they run 45 degrees to the target line, pictured below. 

Your goal is to hit the middle ball. To do so, Smith explains, you must swing from the inside or you’ll clip one or both of the outside golf balls. 

But if you’re someone that tends to slice the ball you might struggle with this move. Luckily, Smith says there’s a simple set-up adjustment you can make to improve your path and swing from the inside. All you have to do is drop your trail foot back a few inches, like Smith is doing in the photo below.

Pulling the trail foot back also pulls your trail leg and hip back, while your shoulders remain square. 

“This adjustment makes an ordinarily difficult move — dropping the club to the inside — fairly easy,” Smith says. 

According to Smith, dropping the trail foot back also helps players that slice the ball create space for the inside move. 

“Rather than coming out and around, the right hip is held in check,” Smith says. 

This split-stance setup also encourages a full release and a hook, which can be helpful when battling a stubborn slice.

For more precise practice use a training aid, like the Rukket Impact Mat, to setup your gate drill and improve your path.

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Golf.com Editor